AMARNATH RADHA RAM Vs. SM MALAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The respondent in this Letters Patent Appeal Mst. Malan, instituted a suit at Amritsar in August 1952 against seven defendants for possession by partition of one-third of certain property and for rendition of accounts regarding the property for the two years preceding the suit. She claimed that the property in suit was joint family property which after the death of her hushand. Ram Chand, had been partitioned among themselves by his two sons, who were her step-sons. It is not clear from the plaint when Ram Chand died or when his sons died but evidently these events took place some years ago, and the defendants were the heirs of the two sons, and the plaintiff claimed that she was entitled to one-third of the property. The suit was contested by the defendants and after issues had been framed in November 1952, 23-2-1953 was fixed for evidence. On that date two counsel representing all the defendants made a statement which reads-

(2.) The plaintiff filed an appeal in this Court supported by an affidavit of the plaintiff in which she practically alleged that she had been tricked into the compromise, the terms of which had not been explained to her, and to which she would never have agreed if she had understood them in view of the value of the property claimed by her, of which she alleged that her share amounted to Rs. 40,000/-. The legal point, however, was also raised in the appeal that the compromise did not relate to the subject-matter of the suit.

(3.) The learned Single Judge before whom the appeal came, without indicating whether he believed the allegations contained in the plaintiff's affidavit or not, accepted the appeal and ordered that the suit should be decided on the merits on the ground that the compromise did not amount to a lawful adjustment of the parties' rights in the suit. In doing so he overruled two objections raised on behalf of the respondents, firstly that the appeal had not been properly filed and secondly that no appeal lay against the order of lower Court.